Mevolent's Elite
by The Fletcher
Summary: When a mysterious boy and girl turn up in Dublin, Skulduggery and Valkyrie investigate. This leads them to meet several new friends, and journey to Russia to try defeat a cult intent on bringing back Mevolent's elite warriors. Note: This story also has two Characters from the Book IBoy, by Kevin Brooks.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:**  
unfortunately i don't own many of these characters. All those classic Skulduggery characters belong to the brilliant Derek Landy, Tom Harvey (Iboy) and Lucy belong to Kevin Brooks and all the characters from the Shapeshifter series belong to Ali Sparkes. The storyline, however, is completely my own, and it's one i hope you all enjoy. Constructive criticism or your thoughts are appreciated. Thank you.

A tall boy in his late teens, with short brown hair, and a girl of similar age fled through Dublin's streets, pursued by a tall figure in a black cloak. No matter how fast they ran, where they ran, he was always just a short way behind them, yet he didn't seem to be breathing heavily. It wouldn't be long before he caught them.

A hand grabbed the boy and he cried out. There was a gleam of metal, and a whistle of air, and then another shadowy figure joined them. This one drew two glinting objects from straps on his back. The boy and girl cowered together, but instead of attacking them, the new figure that had joined them started slashing at the one who'd been chasing them. The girl suddenly realised that the one protecting them was in black armour, whereas the one who'd chased them was in a cloak. As her brain processed this, she saw another figure in black armour beckoning from an alleyway. She dragged the boy towards the figure, and they disappeared from the streets of Dublin.


	2. The Actual Chapter 1

Chapter one, on the way. Hope y'all enjoys it.

Chapter one: The Facility

It was a cool Dublin evening as a Bentley pulled up outside an old warehouse that had once been painted dark green. There were a few clouds in the sky, and the air had a slight chill to it. The driver door of the Bentley opened, and a tall, thin figure in a rather torn tailor made suit stepped out. From the passenger side came a tall, pale girl with long dark hair. There was a livid cut under her left eye, and a little bit of blood trickled out of her right ear.

"That," Valkyrie Cain began, "Is the last time I help you fight a sensitive."

Skulduggery pleasant looked at her, as the magical façade flowed down his face to reveal his skull. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"He tried to melt my brain, Skulduggery. Melt. My. Brain."

"From the way you've been going on about it, I'm not entirely sure I blame him."

Valkyrie looked daggers at him.

"That aside, at least we're still alive." Skulduggery shut the Bentley door.

Valkyrie didn't let up with her look.

Skulduggery raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Ok, ok. That's the last time you help me fight a sensitive. If you ever have to fight one again, I'll at least make sure he doesn't have a sword. And a gun."

"And a chainsaw." Valkyrie dryly replied.

"Aww come on! The chainsaw was fun."

"Not when he was trying to cut my arms off with it!" Valkyrie exclaimed.

"Then it was educational. From now on, if you meet someone holding a chainsaw, you know how to beat them if they attack you with it."

Valkyrie sighed, and then grinned, as Skulduggery led the way towards the warehouse. Valkyrie turned towards the door, but stopped when Skulduggery didn't change his course, carrying on straight towards the north facing wall of the warehouse.

"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery asked, "Where are you going?"

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "Into the warehouse." She replied.

"Well that's wonderful, but we came here to see the head of a Science-Magic facility, not go into a warehouse."

Valkyrie sighed. "And of course, they're not going to be in a warehouse are they? It's going to be underground, or something, with a secret entrance or lift in the wall. It's going to be guarded by Cleavers, or Rippers, or another sort of Cleaver trained security that I have yet to meet. Why didn't I realise sooner?" she asked sarcastically.

The doors of the lift hidden in the warehouse wall slid open, and Skulduggery stepped out, flanked by two Rippers, Cleaver trained security that used two sickles, followed by a rather irritated Valkyrie. The Rippers moved eerily quietly, so only two sets of footsteps echoed off the smooth, sterile white walls of the corridor. They passed two people in very dark green Cleaver armour. The weapons they carried were large hammers, on the end of long staves of wood. The hammer head itself was a cuboid that tapered off to a point on one side. It was as wide as it was tall, that is to say quite tall and wide, and about as long as Valkyrie's forearm. One face was flat, yet seemed to have sharpness to it, and the other end was the pointed end. It was a very sharp, dangerous looking point. Valkyrie pulled her blade and impact resistant jacket a little closer around her. She looked ahead to see a man waiting for them at the top of a stairwell. The corridor continued on some way, and Valkyrie could see at least two more of the hammer wielding Cleaver armoured guards.

"Wreckers." The man told Valkyrie, in a surprisingly powerful voice for someone who looked so old and feeble. He had a long white beard, a very crinkled face and no hair on his head to speak of. He gestured with the walking stick he was carrying. "Cleaver armour, as I think you've noticed, a flat hammer face for impact, yet tiny little ridges and bumps allow it to tear through material as easily as a Cleaver scythe. The point of the hammer is sharp as one such scythe, able to spear a man right through. I do apologise, Detectives, I've failed to introduce myself. My name is Retian Grouse. I believe you knew my son, Kenspeckle. Please, Detectives, this way. I have something, or rather someone, to show you. I think you'll find him quite intriguing."

Retian began down the steps, and Valkyrie and Skulduggery looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

There were six people in the room before Retian, Valkyrie and Skulduggery entered. A boy with brown hair, in a torn grey zip jacket, and equally ripped jeans. Clutching his hand was a girl who had slightly darker hair than him, though her clothes were just as shredded. There was a red mark on her arm, just a dot, and one of the two Science-Sorcerers in the room with them was carrying a small vial of blood over to a computer. On either side of the room stood a Ripper, scythes within easy reach.

The girl freaked out completely when she saw Skulduggery, but surprisingly the boy remained perfectly calm. Once the girl had stopped shaking, calmed by the boy's hand on her shoulder, the boy turned to them, and held out his hand. "Mr Pleasant and Miss Cain?"

Skulduggery shook his outstretched hand. "Hello. I must say, I am impressed that you know us. From the surprise of our friends here," (He gestured at Retian and the Science-Sorcerers) "I can assume they didn't realise you knew of us, so my first question to you is, aside from asking your name, how do you know?"

The boy smiled. "My name is Tom. This is my girlfriend, Lucy. How do I know? I hacked the system." Tom gestured at the computer. "Most advanced firewall I've ever seen, but I overwhelmed it with five trillion Giga-Bytes of data, hacked everything, bypassed passwords, looked into files and essentially worked out who was most likely to come greet us first." As he talked, Valkyrie noticed that Tom had an English accent. Tom turned to her. "Very impressive, by the way. I don't think there are many people who could kill one god, let alone two, and assist in killing half a god." Valkyrie smiled, then the computer made a short, high pitched noise, and one of the Science-Sorcerers leaned over it. "They've just worked out that Lucy is related to a sorcerer who fought and died in the war with…Mevolent? A man named Alrad Magester?"

Skulduggery tilted his head. "I knew Alrad, he was a brave man. An amazingly skilled Elemental, but relied too heavily on his magic. He was killed by an assassin in magic resistant Cleaver armour. He was a good man, you should be proud to be related to him." Skulduggery told Lucy.

Retian spoke up at this point. "Tom's skills are… extraordinary, to say the least. But he cannot stay here. Twice since he arrived, we've been attacked by a small force of Hollow Men, and a sorcerer who threw grey steel bladed disks at us. Our security force just isn't up to the task of protecting him."

Skulduggery nodded. "We'll leave right away. Tom, Lucy, follow us. Retian, it was very nice to meet you, and hopefully we will meet again. Thank you." As Tom and Lucy got up to follow Skulduggery, and Retian began to wish them good luck, an alarm tore through the peace and quiet of the facility.

MUUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! A cliffhanger! Weren't expecting that now, were we? Or maybe you were. I wasn't, right up until I actually posted it. ^_^


	3. Chapter 2

And a second Chapter all in one day! Aren't you lucky. Unless you find this tortuous, in which case WHY are you still reading?

Chapter Two: Corridor Fighting

"Hollow men in the main corridor!" A young man shouted, and the Rippers launched themselves out of the room. Skulduggery pulled his revolver from his coat, and followed them. Valkyrie summoned fire into her hand, and looked at Tom and Lucy. "Stay here, stay safe," she told them, before tearing out of the room.

Tom waited until she'd gone, then stood up and walked towards the door. Retian held his arm out. "No, Tom. Miss Cain has fought gods. A few Hollow men shouldn't pose much of a threat."

Tom sighed, but as he went to sit down, a Ripper tumbled down the steps, landing with his head at an odd angle. Valkyrie followed it down seconds later. She violently launched herself to her feet, and hurled a few fireballs up the steps, pushed at the air, then started back up them. Retian looked at Tom and sighed. "Fine, go. Be careful."

With that, Tom hurried towards the steps, activating his powers even as he went. He felt himself instantly sync with nearby electrical devices, felt pure energy course through his veins. His "ISkin", a force field of blue energy, made of swirling letters and numbers that hovered a centimetre or two away from his skin, activated, and he felt electricity crackle across his fingertips.

Skulduggery was dealing with multiple Hollow men at once. He'd empty his revolver into the crowd of the papery creatures, spin back and reload, before emptying the revolver once again.

The Wreckers were swinging their massive hammers, cutting giant swathes through the ranks. Despite the fact that the hammer face wasn't bladed, the ridges allowed it to act like a giant blade in itself. Valkyrie shredded another Hollow man with shadows, and then spun round to see a glint of metal. Through sheer reflex, she ducked, and the scythe passed over her head. In front of her stood a figure in Cleaver armour, but it was a deep blood red, matching a short cloak and hood over the helmet. This was, without a doubt, a Redhood. Valkyrie's heart plummeted. The last time she'd seen one of these, it had been murdering innocent mortals in a world ruled by Mevolent. That had been in an alternate, potential timeline, but the fact that one was here shook Valkyrie somewhat. She feared the worst, but she quickly processed that it was alone, among the crowd of hollow men. If Mevolent's army had somehow found a way to bridge the gap, it was highly likely that there would be more than one, traveling alone.

Valkyrie pushed at the air. The Redhood moved through the Ripples, but Valkyrie had hit her target, and the scythe went clattering across the ground, lost in a sea of rock feet and dead Hollow men. Valkyrie twisted the Redhood into a headlock, and searched around the helmet with shadows, until she found what she was looking for. She tore the helmet off, and crunched the Redhood's face into a wall. She let him drop, and he didn't get up. The Hollow man flood had slowed somewhat, but with them walked a tall man in a cloak. In his left hand was a pile of surprisingly thin disks. He flicked one into his right hand, twisted his wrist, and suddenly a razor edged disk of steel was hurtling down the corridor towards her. Valkyrie whirled round, out of the way of the disk, and right into a Hollow man's fist.

As it went to finish her off, the Hollow man suddenly burst into flames. There stood Tom, finger point, energy already swelling for another blast. A disk flew at him, but he released the bolt, and it spun off sideways, and embedded itself in the wall, smoke rising gently from it. Tom started cautiously walking forwards, blasting every disk that the man threw. The man slowly started backing away, still throwing disks, the pile didn't seem to be decreasing. He shifted slightly, and then there was no pile, and he was drawing the disks from nowhere and throwing one in each hand. Tom simply raised his other arm, and blasted them with continued, contemptuous ease.

Then the man backed into Skulduggery, and within a few moments collapsed to the floor, unconscious. But the Hollow men were still coming, backing the Wreckers and Rippers away, Tom and Skulduggery too. Skulduggery knelt to lift up the semi-conscious Valkyrie from the floor, and Tom sprung to block the approaching Hollow men. Their fists cracked against his ISkin, and he felt it weaken, which was new. Again and again, they pelted him, and just as he felt it about to break, Lucy appeared at the top of the steps. She saw Tom's ISkin flicker, saw a Hollow man fist almost reach his face, and cried out. The shockwave shattered glass, completely destroying the security cameras in the corridor. It passed round Tom, Skulduggery, Valkyrie, the Wreckers and the Rippers without effect, but every single Hollow man in the corridor was ripped to shreds.

Skulduggery carried Valkyrie to the Bentley and placed her in the front seat, as she slowly woke up. Tom and Lucy got into the back and they drove off in silence. Skulduggery snapped his fingers.

"Siren."

Lucy looked up.

"You're a Siren. That's what your power is. It's an incredibly rare talent; I've never actually met anyone who has it."

Valkyrie frowned. "She hasn't had any training though."

"There are some powers that you can't train in. No-one can train to be a Teleporter, nor a Sensitive. If you are one, you are one. If you're not, you never will be. Only someone who knows their true name can train to be anything. So, Lucy, you're a Siren. That's your area of magic, and it always will be."

"So what can I do?" Lucy asked.

"No-one is really sure. As you saw, you can shout with physical force, in varying degrees of it too. You tore apart a whole corridor full of Hollow men with just a shout. Aside from that, who knows what you can do? You'll just have to learn as you go along. I remember hearing a story of one Siren who could temporarily strip a person of magic, when he wailed in a certain way."

Lucy nodded, and sat back next to Tom.

"Someone's just about to call you." Tom told Skulduggery.

Skulduggery's phone rang, and he tilted his head sideways as he answered. "I'm driving, talk to Valkyrie," he said into the phone, and passed it across.

"Hey Ghastly…" Valkyrie answered. "Uuhh… yeah… ok… yeah, I'll tell him." She ended the call.

"Minus some curses, Ghastly says get a move on. The representatives' private jet is about to land."

Skulduggery glanced back at the confused looking couple in the back, and tried to explain. "There's been a lot of problems recently, between the Irish Sanctuary and… the rest of the world. There's a distinct possibility that war between Sanctuaries will occur. Three people from the British Sanctuary are visiting to see if they can calm it all down, but everyone knows that there's really very little chance of that."

Ahha! Did you like my attempt to make it a small continuation from Kingdom of the Wicked? A sort of in between books thing, betweek K of the W and whatever Derek Landy calls the next book.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chaaaaaaaapter Threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ee**

**If you're reading this, feel free to drop a review.**

**Chapter 3 The Representatives**

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Skulduggery pulled into a small car park, next to a rather squat building. The clock on the wall of the building was an hour fast, but it read 4:30 am. Valkyrie realised she hadn't slept for over 24 hours. She sighed.

There were three men sharing a large bottle of beer on a bench near the road, and the trees rustled slightly in the cool breeze. Valkyrie watched as the small private jet came into land, and Skulduggery broke off his call to a Sanctuary agent about bringing an extra car, as his had become suddenly quite full, and went to greet the representatives as they stepped off the plane.

The three men had got up, and were slowly moving towards them.

"My name is Skulduggery Pleasant, this is Valkyrie Cain, and these two are Tom and Lucy. We'll wait with you until a Sanctuary agent arrives to escort you to the Sanctuary."

The men were moving faster towards them.

"Skulduggery?" Valkyrie began.

"And did you know," Skulduggery told the representatives, "That the sparrow flies south for winter." Turning away from the bewildered Brits, Skulduggery launched two fireballs in the direction of the men.

They all dived in different directions, and one of the fireballs missed, although the other set fire to the jacket one of the men was wearing. As he writhed around on the ground, trying to extinguish his rapidly crisping garment, one of the others stood up. Valkyrie could see he had something sheathed at his belt, that looked to be somewhere between a long knife and a very short, thin sword.

The man clicked his fingers, and suddenly an exact duplicate of him was standing there. The copy charged, drawing the blade as it went. Skulduggery cursed, pulled his revolver out and shot the charging duplicate in the head. It fell, and it's momentum took it forward. It slid to a stop at Skulduggery's feet. The man was already clicking his fingers again and again, over and over, producing more and more replicas that charged at the little group standing by the plane. The front five dropped, but by then they were too close for Skulduggery to waste time reloading. He put the revolver back into his suit, held up his hands, and released two constant streams of fire into the oncoming crowd of copies. Though many fell, burning and screaming, it didn't stop the crowd as a whole advancing. The man was replicating himself as fast as Skulduggery could kill them. And then, over the top of the building came four figures. Two were in black, already holding their razor sharp sickles, and the other two were in deep green armour, carrying massive hammers, with a spike on the back. Wreckers, Valkyrie remembered.

They crashed into the hoard of replications, like a wave against the shore, and then stood their ground, hacking and slashing, Ripping and Wrecking. Blood and entrails flew through the air and splattered across the ground, but it seemed that they at least were holding back the tide of copies. The other two men, one now minus a jacket, realised that the replications weren't working. From nowhere they drew disks and proceeded to hurl them at the Rippers and Wreckers. Valkyrie and Skulduggery charged one each, and started fighting them at close quarters.

Tom and Lucy stood by the representatives, unsure of what to do, when ten figures in red cloaks and armour, wielding scythes, charged from the trees towards them. Tom whispered to Lucy, and she nodded and ran off, then turned to try defend the British men. They were already trying to deal with the first Redhood. One man slammed his fist into it's chest, sending it hurtling backwards. As the Redhood struggled to it's feet, Tom saw that it's armour was splintered and torn where the punch had landed. A second man ran towards it, jumped, and booted it in the head, before landing gracefully behind it. The third man looked as if he were about to use Elemental magic, but then thought better of it, pulled out a handgun, aimed carefully for the gap in the armour, and shot twice.

The Redhood went down, but already more were near. Tom activated his ISkin and prepared to fight. The first neared, and Tom stretched out his hand and forced 90,000 volts out in a wave. The Redhood vanished, and Tom realised he was standing in a small, smoking crater. But before he had time to realise he'd just vaporised someone, a scythe swung for his head.

Lucy kept low, circling the battle. No-one was paying much attention to her. She watched as the Rippers and Wreckers stood tearing apart the crowd of copies and as Skulduggery and Valkyrie fought the disk throwers. She held her breath as a Redhood tried to slice one of Tom's legs off, then let it out slowly as that same Redhood flew across the night sky like a shooting star. Lucy followed Tom's plan, skirting the edge of the fighting, in an attempt to deal with the man copying himself.

The man turned, just as Lucy was about to shout. He didn't stop clicking his fingers, just grinned at her. "What have we here then?" he asked, as if talking to a young child.

Lucy grinned, in such a way that made the man slightly worried. "Nothing," She whispered, and the man collapsed. His fingers stopped clicking, copies ceased appearing. He just lay on the ground, blinking and breathing. Lucy had wiped his mind of everything but basic bodily functions. If he'd had any more magic focused on defence, she wouldn't have succeeded, but he hadn't been expecting a girl in her late teens to wipe his mind with a word. The Rippers ran from where they'd been fighting the copies, leaving the Wreckers to deal with the last few, and went to help Tom deal with the last couple of Redhoods. Skulduggery let the Sorcerer he'd charged slump to the ground, unconscious. Valkyrie used the air to snatch some handcuffs out of Skulduggery's pocket, and snapped them on the Sorcerer she'd taken on.

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**MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA the sparrow flies south for winter.**


	5. Chapter 4

**I apologize, this ends in another cliff hanger. It was that or end it weirdly or on too many words. (I try to keep chapters to around 1,250 words)**

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Two Sanctuary Vehicles pulled up, one a sleek silver car, the other a large thing that resembled a police van. From the van jumped six Cleavers, who ran to the three men taken down by Valkyrie, Skulduggery and Lucy. Each man was picked up by two Cleavers, who travelled swiftly back towards their van and dumped the captives inside. The car door opened and a Sorcerer that Valkyrie vaguely knew beckoned from inside. The Representatives walked towards him with a word to Skulduggery.

Skulduggery looked amused. "How did they know that we had people to be arrested?" He asked no-one in particular.

Tom smiled at him. "I sent a message through your phone to the man who called you, saying there was no time to talk and that we needed a van for three people who'd been arrested."

Valkyrie looked at him. "But that must have been almost before we started fighting them."

Tom nodded. "I was confident you'd beat them."

Skulduggery leaned towards him. "It wouldn't have been as easy if it weren't for those Rippers and Wreckers."

A young, warm voice with a Russian accent spoke from behind him. "I'm glad that you acknowledge our part in saving you and your three young friends, Mr Pleasant."

Skulduggery turned to see the two Rippers and the two Wreckers standing behind him. One of the Rippers was cleaning his sickles in the ground, but it was impossible to tell who'd spoken.

"Well, I wouldn't say you saved us. You just made the overall job of killing ten Redhoods and taking down three relatively skilled Sorcerers just a little bit easier."

The Russian voice came again, and Valkyrie realised that it was one of the Wreckers. "Be that as it may, I thank you for understanding our help."

"I would be less suspicious of you if you removed your helmet and explained why a Wrecker, supposedly a drone with no proper mind of it's own, and little independence, is a Russian woman." Skulduggery said threateningly, reaching into his suit, obviously for his revolver.

Both Wreckers pulled their helmets off, and there stood a Russian woman, and a man who looked a lot like a Cleaver drone man, but a little more alive, a little more independent and clever.

"My name is Anna. This is my friend Alex. We were sent by the same men who sent those three to attack you…"

Skulduggery drew his revolver and pointed it at her head.

"But," She continued. "We've changed. We were supposed to infiltrate the network of Cleaver Security, thanks to our… unique abilities. But we no longer want to. These men wish to bring back Mevolent's Elite. The Redhoods especially. They want to fell every Sanctuary in the world. I fought for a few years in the war, on your side of course. I have no love for Mevolent. My friend here is younger, in his late nineties. I trained him in my arts, and he knows what I know. He was meant to be a Cleaver, but my training changed him to think for himself."

Skulduggery lowered his revolver. "Why are you here?"

"To ask you to help stop it." Anna replied. "If Mevolent's Elite are returned, Mevolent's beliefs may too. The world could spiral back into war."

Skulduggery nodded. "I hope you have your own vehicle. We'll head back to the Sanctuary and see what we can do from there."

Anna nodded. She muttered something in Russian and her friend Alex followed. The Rippers looked at each-other, and then followed them.

Skulduggery led the way back to the car.

They drove for a few minutes before anyone spoke.

"Tom?" Skulduggery asked.

A blue glow faded from Tom's eyes. "Yes Skulduggery?"

"How did you end up in Dublin?"

"It's a long story."

"It's a long drive."

Tom laughed. "Ok, Ok, here goes. It started about five months ago. My poor Gram died of old age, and I got some money from 'somewhere' and brought the flat that she'd been renting. One night I'd taken Lucy out to dinner somewhere, when the glass of the front window of the restaurant exploded, and three men jumped through. One was just a normal guy, so it seemed, and the other two were in grey, with giant scythes, who I know now are Cleavers. So this guy scrambles across most of the tables in the restaurant, and as he gets half way he slaps his palms together, and a pulse of some sort flies from him. It hits one of the Cleavers, sending him hurtling out into the street, but before he can do it again, the other Cleaver reaches him and slaps some cuffs on him. We're all asked to stay where we are, then some guys turn up and start talking to us. And slowly everyone starts to forget it. In less than half an hour everyone is eating again and the glass is repaired. I'm the only guy who remembers. So that was the first time. Second time was about a month later. Again I was with Lucy, walking somewhere, but this time, no Cleavers appeared. Just this nondescript guy, with his right arm in leather armour and his left in armour that looked like silver Cleaver armour. He had a handgun holstered at his right hip, and a sword in a scabbard on his left. He charged towards me and Lucy, right hand outstretched, palm towards us, and let loose a massive bolt of energy. I could feel it, the energy, how it writhed and twisted, how it was brutal and unnatural, yet organic. I pushed Lucy out the way, and the bolt hit me, but by then my ISkin was active, and though the bolt pushed me backwards, I wasn't physically hurt. I played dead, and watched as three men came sailing over a building and dropped behind the man who'd attacked me. They started fighting, and I felt gusts of air blasting down the street, and some fire sprang up. Finally, the man was brought down. There were just two others left, the third lay clutching his throat, watching blood spill between his fingers with dead eyes. A man came up to me and started trying to convince us that we hadn't seen what we thought we had. I accidentally let slip that I'd seen something like it before. The man arrested me, and said someone called Geoffery Scrutinous would sort me out. Then this man with wild frizzy hair, and an Irish accent came to us and tried to make us forget. I told him no, and zapped him. They thought that I was a Sorcerer like you guys, and let us both go."

Skulduggery nodded. "Makes sense, but that still doesn't explain why you ended up in a Science-Magic Facility."

Tom smiled sadly. "I was getting to that. Just a week ago, a man, like the ones we've fought, with disks came to our block of flats. He attacked and killed Lucy's mum and brother, but I was up there in an instant, and pushed him out of a window. Surprisingly this only annoyed him. We ran as fast as we could, as far as we could, and here we are."

Skulduggery nodded. "Here you are. And here, ironically, we are." He replied as he pulled into the Sanctuary car park. The Representatives were being greeted by two of the Elders; Erskine Ravel, tall and surprisingly handsome considering the fact that he was a few hundred years old, and Ghastly Bespoke, a tailor before he became one of the Elders, Ghastly's mother was cursed and so Ghastly was born with many parallel scars on his bald head, all sweeping in the same direction, from his forehead to the back of his head. Despite the scars, he was quite good looking, and had managed to almost secure a date with Tanith Low before she was possessed by a Remnant. Valkyrie sighed. She missed Tanith.

Ghastly waved to Skulduggery as he got out the car. Tom and Lucy followed them, but before they even got a chance to meet the Elders, a shout came from a building opposite.


	6. Chapter 5

**MUAHAAHHAAHAH please feel free to review (Have i asked that before? Probably) I Would like to know what people think. **

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"Sanctuary! What a foolish name. This place is no safe haven. We are now going to prove that!" A man cried. At his command, a swarm of figures in red armour and brown leather charged into the street from over the top of buildings. Instantly, Cleavers sprung to engage them, although it was obviously hopeless, due to the sheer amount of enemies.

But when planning the attack, someone missed out one key thing. Roarhaven, the grotty town where the Sanctuary was located, was a town of Sorcerers. And although many disliked the way the Sanctuaries were run, they had no love for Mevolent's forces either.

Doors burst open, and windows shattered. People charged from the doorways and leaped out of the windows, although some were silly enough to leap out of windows not on the ground floor. Men and women of many different ages filled the streets, and a massive fight began. Valkyrie spun into an alleyway, as a blast of energy pulverised the ground where she had been standing.

"Hello, fancy seeing you here," a voice came from behind her. Skulduggery stood there with his permanent grin.

"Skulduggery, are those actually City Mages we met in Mevolent's dimension?"

"Yes. Although actually, during the war they were known as Elite Mages. The skills required were very specific, as was the discipline of magic the mages were trained in. Energy, in short, similar to the power that Dexter Vex has."

Valkyrie smiled grimly. "Right. Good."

She whirled from cover, spearing a Redhood through the neck with a sliver of shadow, before launching several fireballs at the nearest Elite Mage. The mage raised his left arm, and the fire dissipated on the armour, but he lowered the arm to see what was coming next and a shadow pierced his eye.

Beams of energy criss-crossed the street. By the entrance to the Sanctuary, Ghastly and Ravel were arguing with Tipstaff. The flustered administrator insisted that the Elders get inside, but Ravel shouted back that he was sick and tired of letting other people do his fighting for him. Then a Redhood drove his scythe through Tipstaff's right shoulder. As he collapsed, Ghastly and Ravel sprung to his defence, using a mixture of their powerful Elemental magic and years of combat knowledge to bring the Redhood down.

Roarhaven mages clashed with Elite Mages, the diverse range of powers in Roarhaven proving useful in taking down the Elite Mages, who only had one form of magic at their disposal. Valkyrie saw one man use a barrier of force on another, who then had enough time to focus his magic and send a column of power into the crowd, blasting mages and Redhoods alike into oblivion.

Valkyrie spotted a man on a Bicycle, peddling fast towards the crowd. As he got near, he took his left hand off the bars and swung a sword out. He sliced through the crowd, Redhoods collapsing behind him, before a mage swung at his bike and he toppled to the ground. The man got up, drawing another sword, and started frantically blocking. With both his swords engaged defending his front from five Elite Mages, he didn't notice the Redhood behind him, scythe raised for a kill.

Valkyrie chucked a fireball at the Redhood, and though the helmed protected him, the flames briefly obscured the visor. The man with the swords used that distraction to escape the crowd, and as he ducked behind a bin in the street, he grimly nodded a thank you at Valkyrie.

It seemed to be going well. The Elite Mages and Redhoods were dropping, with few casualties on the side of the Cleavers and Roarhaven Mages. Tom was blasting energy at anyone who came near him, and every so often, Lucy would shout with force that tore Redhoods apart.

Then the men on the roof joined in. There were three of them, and they launched disks into the crowd, killing many of their own soldiers, but still often finding their marks, be it Cleavers or Roarhaven Mages. Disks fell like a fatal rain, with screams and wails rising from the crowd.

Then came a roar. An inhuman roar. Because, swirling down the street most of the contents of the grimy little lake that Roarhaven was built by. Redhoods and Elite Mages were swept up, whilst the Roarhaven-ers and the Cleavers had the good sense to hang on to something.

Freezing water rushed into Valkyrie's ears, nose and mouth, though she kept her eyes tight shut.

Slowly, the water cleared. mages got up from where they were clinging on. Cleavers were the fastest to act, surrounding the Redhoods and mages still alive and cuffing them. Skulduggery was stood by his Bentley, which was bone dry, seemingly conducting an invisible orchestra. The water flowed back into the lake, and Skulduggery dropped his hands to his sides. "I probably won't be doing that again for a while." He told the stunned people around him.

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**If you're reading this for the Shapeshifter characters, be patient, they'll be along soon. Sorry if it seems like you're waiting too long for them**


	7. Chapter 6

**I can see you, viewing these. nine people, as of the day i'm uploading this, have viewed the first chapter. though somehow chapters four and five only have a view each, chapter six has two views. strange. anyways, enjoy =)**

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The three Sorcerers who threw Disks stood with their hands in the air, in surrender. Several Sanctuary operatives were counting losses. Thirteen Cleavers were dead, along with over thirty Roarhaven Mages. The man with the swords whom Valkyrie had saved was among them, a bladed disk embedded in his face.

Six Cleavers closed in on the men. Valkyrie heard a very faint bleeping noise coming from the men.

Reacting purely on instinct, she pushed at the air towards the Cleavers. Not expecting an attack with air, the Cleavers didn't have time to move through it, and ended up flying sideways. Other Cleavers instantly moved towards her, but the bleeping stopped and a horrific explosion tore the three Disk Throwers apart.

Ravel pointed at Valkyrie, angry at the Cleavers. "Can't you see she just saved their lives? If they'd been any closer, they'd be dead!"

Unsure, the Cleavers slowed. Then they stopped, and stood to attention. Skulduggery came over, Tom and Lucy close behind.

"Anna has given us a lead. We have to follow it right now. This was all a distraction, to stop us from getting somewhere before they did. We need allies, but we don't have time to drive." Skulduggery turned to Tom and Lucy. "You two, meet Fletcher."

And suddenly, next to Skulduggery stood a boy with blond hair that stuck up in wild directions. "Hi," Fletcher muttered sheepishly.

Skulduggery took Tom somewhere, telling him he needed help tracing a very elusive number. Lucy and Valkyrie went with Fletcher to the Midnight Hotel. They were greeted at the door by Anton Shudder, a man of immense power and the owner of the Hotel. Valkyrie had thought that it would be difficult to persuade Shudder to come, but Skulduggery said only one word was needed.

"Redhoods." Valkyrie told Shudder.

"What?!" Shudder went very pale, more so than usual "Where?"

"I don't know, but we have someone who does. Will you help us?"

Shudder looked at Fletcher. "I never really liked teleporting. Lead on then."

Somewhere in the Middle East, a phone in a phone booth started ringing. A handsome and rugged looking man nearby turned to look at it, but it was answered by a local, so he turned back to his map.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you Mr Vex?" A man with a heavy accent asked.

"Indeed I am," the handsome man replied. "Why do you want to know?"

The local pointed at the phone booth, where his friend was holding the phone up. "The call. It's for you."

Kallista Pendragon and Rosella Ember, two Sanctuary agents who had worked with Skulduggery and Valkyrie before, when trying to catch the Death Bringer, were doing guard duty on the few Redhoods and Mages who'd survived the fight outside when suddenly Fletcher and Valkyrie appeared beside them.

"Any reason you wanted to see us?" Kallista asked.

Valkyrie nodded. "You've worked with us before. We know we can trust you. Will you join us?"

Rosella frowned. "Without knowing where you're planning to take us, or what awaits?"

Valkyrie smiled. "Punching people is one of the things we'll ask you to do."

"We're in." Kallista grinned.

Finally they were ready. It took a great amount of time to persuade Ravel and Ghastly not to come, but eventually they agreed that they'd been in enough danger, and they couldn't leave complete control of the Sanctuary to Madame Mist, the third Elder and a Child of the spider who they suspected of secretly working against them. The team consisted of; two Rippers who'd been paid by the Science-Magic facility where Tom had been staying to look after Tom, no matter what, Anna and Alex, both in Wrecker armour, with their giant battle hammers, Anton Shudder, Dexter Vex, Kallista Pendragon and Rosella Ember. Skulduggery was pleased, but Valkyrie wasn't confident.

"Surely we should have more people if we plan to take on enough Redhoods to take down every Sanctuary in the world."

Anna looked at her. "Valkyrie, we're not going to take down the Redhood army yet. We have to find it first."

"And how are we going to do that?" Asked Tom, who'd insisted that he and Lucy join the expedition.

"A man named Volley Dispel." Anna replied.

Skulduggery tilted his head. "Mr Dispel was a mercenary, was he not?"

Anna smiled. "You memory serves you well, skeleton. Volley was a mercenary, and yet he had some rather un-mercenary traits. He refused to fight for Mevolent during the war, no matter what he was offered. He also refuses to kill children, old people (as in people who actually look old, not someone like me who's over one hundred but looks around twenty) and anyone who had done nothing wrong in a moral sense. His brand of magic is Archery Magic, but he also trained himself to be the only man who can completely counteract any sort of magic. Even magic armour, although weapons like the Cleaver's scythes will be just as effective against him."

"So we're going to capture him?" Valkyrie asked. "Why all the trouble for just one man then."

"No," Anna replied. "We're going to rescue him."

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**CLIFFHANGERS! Cliffhangers galore! Muahahahahahahaha**


	8. Chapter 7

**First appearance of the Shapeshifter Characters now. Sorry it's taken so long**

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The place Anna pointed out on the map was a place Fletcher had been before, so everyone held hands, Fletcher closed his eyes, and instantly they found themselves in the middle of a battle.

A man who looked like he was in his forties stood at the first floor window of his house, drawing arrows from nowhere and shooting them down into a crowd of Redhoods and mages, who were trying to either scale the walls of the man's house or break the barricades he had over the doors and windows. Both methods weren't massively effective.

Fletcher gave a yelp and vanished, but the others spread out and prepared to fight the Redhoods who were already turning towards them. Tom noticed that there were a lot of mages who had stopped attacking Dispel's house and were paying close attention to several figures crouched behind what looked like a British Army truck. One of the figures leant out, and Tom realised that it was a boy a few years younger than him. He watched as the boy raised his arms. One of the mages watching the van raised his palm to unleash a blast of energy, but suddenly found himself flying into the air.

Tom activated his IMind, and hacked the British system to find any records relating to the boy. He realised it would take a while, so instead charged into the fray, in the hope of offering some help to the figures behind the truck.

Valkyrie prepared to use her necromancer ring, but before she could do anything, a figure beckoned from an alley running down the side of Volley's house. "This way, Miss Cain," Growled a deep, Russian accented voice, which Valkyrie realised belonged to Alex, Anna's quiet friend.

Alex linked his hands together, and indicated with his head. Valkyrie put her left foot on his palms, and he heaved upwards, launching her high into the air. Valkyrie landed lightly on the sloped roof, and faced the two Redhoods who had a similar idea on entering the house.

With a crash, Valkyrie dropped through the roof of Volley's house, and through the attic floor on to the first floor. She carefully stepped off the Redhood who had acted as the battering ram, and turned to find an arrow levelled between her eyes.

"Who are you?" The man, who was obviously Volley, asked coldly.

"Mr Dispel, I'm here to rescue you."

"Rescue me? What is your name, child?" Volley asked, in a slightly softer voice, though still tinged with nervousness.

Valkyrie ran to the window, and swiped with shadow at the three Redhoods scaling the wall. They dropped off, right on top of some of their allies. Valkyrie winced as a disgusting crunch came, before launching a fireball into the crowd, which had suddenly found itself under attack from multiple sides. "My name is Valkyrie Cain."

Volley raised an eyebrow. "Valkyrie Cain? The god killer. Well, I am impressed. I thank you, because I severely doubt I'd be here if it weren't for you."

Valkyrie smiled grimly. "I severely doubt you'll be here much longer if you don't help my friends clear up this mess."

Volley nodded. "Quite," He said, and though he'd said a lot of words since she saw him, Valkyrie realised that Volley was British.

Volley drew three arrows from nowhere, nocked them all at once into his bow, and fired them at exactly the same time. Three Redhoods dropped, arrows in their throats.

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "Anna wasn't lying when she said you could counteract even magic armour."

Volley didn't reply, just let loose another volley and ducked back below the windowsill.

Tom's scan turned up two results. The boy he'd spotted had blond hair, glasses, and a Telekinetic ability. There were two matches, one with glasses and one without. Luke Reader and Gideon Reader. Both part of something called the COLA Project. COLA apparently stood for "Children Of Limitless Ability". Tom saved the page, before hurriedly browsing the COLA database for recently entered files.

The latest two were just a few days ago, and Tom quickly read them. One was about a man named Owen Hind, who had been thought to be dead, returning with news of terrible danger. He had been listened to, but the COLA Project hadn't acted fast enough, and the COLA children were attacked.

The second detailed how all were ok, but Owen had insisted that more attacks would come if nothing was done. He was authorised to lead eight of the most talented COLAs, plus one adult, to find the source of the danger and hopefully destroy it.

Tom quickly hacked a military satellite, and zoomed in on the spot behind the van. Sure enough, there were ten figures behind it. Tom let up his hold on the satellite and started carving a path towards them.

Valkyrie watched as Rosella stumbled backwards away from a Redhood. A large amount of blood was pouring from her right leg. Valkyrie pointed at the Redhood and nudged Volley, who send an arrow into it's neck. A blast of energy flew towards Volley, but he simply held up his hand and caught it. It bubbled and hissed in his hand for a moment, before fading away.

Finally the battle was won. The last few Mages surrendered or fled, and Fletcher re-appeared to take the one's who'd been arrested, Rosella, Kallista, Shudder and Vex back to where they were meant to be.

Before Vex went, he shook Skulduggery's hand, and Valkyrie's too, saying it had been far too long since they'd seen each other. He held Valkyrie's just a bit longer, and smiled at her. "Stay safe, Valkyrie Cain. If you don't, who else is there to look after Skulduggery?" Vex laughed and let her hand drop, then stepped back, put his hand on Fletcher's shoulder, and they were gone.

Tom walked over, followed by ten people who Valkyrie had never seen before. Two blond boys who were almost identical were supporting a man with short, curly brown hair between them. A girl with dark hair ran over, placed both her hands on his left knee and started muttering to herself. She sat that way for a moment, and when she turned round, Valkyrie was completely stunned by her. The girl had violet eyes, and though she wasn't beautiful, Valkyrie couldn't stop staring at her.

One of the blond boys, the one without glasses, smiled. "It's the Mia effect. Happens to almost everyone."

"I… I knew someone who had a similar effect. Silly really, after a few years of being exposed to it, someone else with a similar ability shouldn't have the effect on me…" Valkyrie mumbled.

Skulduggery placed a hand on Valkyrie's shoulder, snapping her out of the trance, and stepped forward.

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**Ahhah, there ya go. The Shapeshifter characters, at last. **


	9. Chapter 8

**Introductions to the Shapeshifter Characters now, just in case any of you are unaware of who they are. As Always, enjoy, and do feel free to express your thoughts or opinions in a review.**

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After the newcomers had calmed down enough, from the surprise of a living, talking skeleton, to string together a proper sentence, between them at any rate, Skulduggery and Valkyrie introduced themselves, as did Tom and Lucy. Anna, Alex, Volley and the two Rippers stood silently in the background, trying to remain anonymous. Fletcher arrived just before the newcomers introduced themselves, giving them all a fright. After they were calmed down once again, they introduced themselves one by one.

Tom checked them against their files, and noted their powers too. The boy with tufty blond hair and without glasses was called Gideon, and his twin with glasses was Luke. Gideon introduced Luke, and when asked why Luke didn't introduce himself, explained that Luke was mute. They were both telekinetic. A boy who seemed to have a fondness for food introduced himself as Barry. Barry had short, dark hair and grey eyes. Tom noted that Barry was able to turn himself invisible, but adenoids in his nose meant that he could often be detected by a slight whistling noise when he breathed. A short boy next to him, wearing what looked like a stab and bullet proof vest and a pair of slightly battered glasses introduced himself as Clive. Tom was surprised to find that in Clive's file it said he had no supernatural abilities, he was just incredibly intelligent. The girl who had what Gideon called "The Mia effect" was, of course, Mia. She could heal most wounds, apparently, although up until the past couple of years it had taken a lot of her own energy. There was a boy with ginger hair standing protectively near Mia, called Spencer, although he asked them to call him Spook. Spook was an illusionist, able to make people see things that weren't there, and to some extent disguise things that were there. Next came Lisa, a blond, stressed looking girl who had the power to read weak minds and control them, find lost things and speak to dead people. She also had a slight power of foresight, able to see a few minutes into the future. Last of the kids to introduce himself was a boy named Dax. He seemed to be the one that most of the others looked to as leader, because he'd been in the lead when Gideon and Luke were carrying one of the men. Tom was surprised to see that Dax was a shapeshifter. A fox was Dax's preferred animal form, but he could also shift into a peregrine falcon and an otter.

The man who had been injured until Mia worked her magic, was called Owen. Ex-army, Owen was a man of immense courage, one who could always be trusted to do the right thing for those around him, with very little thought for himself. The other adult was only in his twenties. He was telekinetic, although he had got his powers in a different way to the children. His name was Tyrone.

Owen reached out to shake Skulduggery's hand. "If you came here for the same reason we did, we'll probably end up working together."

Skulduggery shook Owen's hand. "I don't like the thought of putting kids in danger."

Owen glanced at Valkyrie. Valkyrie smiled. "I've been training for years with Skulduggery. I've killed beings with power equal to that of gods. I don't really think I can be called a kid."

Owen looked impressed, as did the eight kids who were straining their ears to hear the conversation. "Be that as it may, Miss… Cain? Be that as it may, these kids aren't exactly new to fights either. I think we'll manage."

Skulduggery sighed. "If you insist, Mr Hind."

Owen smiled. "I do, Mr Pleasant."

Anna stepped forward at this point, removing her helmet. "We have wasted enough time. I am glad we have made some allies, but now we must follow Mr Dispel's leads."

Volley stepped forward too. "I'm flattered that you all came here to rescue me. I think I know what you want to know. The small cult that wants to bring back Mevolent's two elite forces is based in Russia. They've been training new members for over eighty years. Most of them are Disk Throwers. Similar to my archery magic, disk throwing magic provides the user with an unlimited amount of razor edged disks to throw at their enemies. There are some 'Natural' sorcerers too. Similar to your Teleporter here, or your Siren, long time since I've heard one of them, 'Natural' Sorcerers are Sorcerers who have natural abilities, abilities that can't be trained in. One I have heard of is a man who can replicate himself with a snap of his fingers. Another who can shift out of reality for a short time, allowing him to 'ghost' through walls. But I do not know where their base is, because Russia is a big place. If we travel to Russia, I have leads we can follow, after we have obtained the Russian Sanctuary's permission to operate."

Skulduggery had a whispered conversation with Fletcher and Owen, before coming back to Valkyrie. "Me and Fletcher will take the Bentley back to my house, before collecting a few things and traveling a bit in Russia until we find a place to live for a bit. I want you to travel with Owen and his group of kids. They're going to stop off at your house, just so you can check on your reflection, before heading on to England. We've arranged a place to meet in a few days, and we'll head to Russia and get to work."

Valkyrie nodded. "What are you going to collect?"

"The case. That's something I need to talk to you about. We have to completely trust these people. We will not be able to defeat the army that has been raised without both Vile and Darquess. So from now on, if they ask about a secret weapon, or a plan, tell them. There is no point keeping it secret. I'd hoped that just you and I would have been able to face this, but we've got too many allies. And don't worry, Fletcher will be long gone." Skulduggery put a hand on her shoulder. "Understood?"

Valkyrie nodded. "See you in a few days?"

Skulduggery nodded too. "See you in a few days." He confirmed.


	10. Chapter 9

**Not much Happens in this chapter, sorry. it's just a way to carry the story forward a little bit.**

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Valkyrie sat on a bench in the Bullring in Birmingham, with Lisa and Mia, while Gideon, Luke, Spook and Dax talked outside a shop, Tom and Lucy sat together at a smoothie bar and Owen, Tyrone, Clive and Barry ate at a nearby restaurant. Anna and Alex were in normal clothing, but had big backpacks on, which contained their armour and weapons. They stood pretending to advertise a game, with the Rippers standing like promotional statues. Twice, official looking men had walked up to them. Both times, Valkyrie had realised that they were Sorcerers, and a quick word or two had put their unease at rest.

Valkyrie received a text and stood, silently motioning Lisa and Mia to follow her. Realising that something was happening, Dax and Owen led their groups after her, followed by Tom and Lucy. Owen waved away the waiter, placing a few notes in his hand that totalled about twice as much as the bill was. Anna beckoned and she, Alex and the Rippers moved after them. They walked towards a door, and Valkyrie went to open it.

Passers-by were surprised when a door from the Bullring into the street opened, but no-one came through.

Nineteen people stood in an alley in Moscow, Capital of Russia. Fletcher took his leave. Eighteen people walked out of the alley, led by a tall man in a tailor made navy blue suit and a pale girl in her late teens, wearing dark clothing. After them came two adult men, then ten people in their mid-teens. Lastly came four figures in armour, helmets covering their heads. Two in black armour, each with two sickles, and two in dark green armour, with giant hammers with a point on the opposite end strapped to their backs.

Money wasn't a concern for Skulduggery, and he'd had a couple hundred years to build up a fortune. Whilst searching Moscow with Fletcher, he'd come across a hotel that was for sale. It wasn't the cleanest place on earth, but there was clean water, hot and cold, and electricity. It was also one of the few places for sale big enough to house eighteen people.

"There's eleven usable rooms, so if me, Owen, Tyrone, Anna and Alex get a room each, that leaves six rooms to share between eleven of you." Skulduggery told the others as they walked through the Hotel door.

"What about the…Rippers?" Owen asked, flicking on the lights.

"They don't actually need sleep. Not much, at any rate. If they do, they can sleep on the sofas here in the lobby." Skulduggery replied. "Now, I trust that Dispel gave you something containing all the information and leads he had into where the cult is based?"

Owen pointed at a small suitcase that Tyrone had been dragging. "All his notes, newspaper cuttings, etcetera are in there."

Skulduggery took the suitcase and thanked Tyrone. "I'm going to talk to the Russian Sanctuary. I might be some time, so just sit tight here until I return. Oh and Valkyrie, the case is in my room, top floor, room three."

Valkyrie nodded. She started up the stairs as Skulduggery made the others write down which rooms were useable.

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**Sorry again for lack of stuff. More in next chapter. Also there might be a few numerical errors (I was tired when i wrote this bit) so just to confirm there are Eighteen of them, including the two Rippers, Anna and Alex, and Tom and Lucy.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Everything is moving quickly now, shouldn't be long before the ending.**

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It had been three days since Skulduggery had left to talk to the Russian Sanctuary. Three days with nothing much happening, nothing to do. Three days without hot food, because somehow, after the first night, all that remained of the gas stove and the oven were small bits of metal and plastic scattered across the kitchen floor.

Valkyrie sat on the roof, watching as the last sliver of sun disappeared behind Moscow's buildings. She took another bite of her chocolate bar, one of the last few that remained since Owen and Tyrone had gone shopping, and almost fell off the edge of the roof when a voice came from behind her. "Hey," the voice said.

She turned round and saw a smiling face, with tufty blond hair falling over his eyes. "Gideon, hey. How you doing?"

"Not bad thanks Val. You?"

"Worried, about Skulduggery, but I think he's ok."

"Not worried about taking on an army of, what are they, Redhoods? And those mages?"

"Nah," Valkyrie smiled slightly. "We have a plan."

As Gideon lowered himself onto the edge of the hotel roof next to Valkyrie, a falcon swooped from a cloud and landed on the near to them. Next second, Dax was crouched there. He stood up and dusted himself down, before slumping next to Gideon. "Seems I'm not the only one who can't sleep. Nervous?"

"Sort of…" Valkyrie sighed.

A grumpy voice sounded from behind them. "You three are making so much mental noise that you're keeping me awake." Lisa flicked her blond hair back and sat down beside Valkyrie, feet planted on the roof rather than dangling over the edge like the others were.

Tom followed a moment later. "Don't leave me out."

"Can't sleep?" Valkyrie asked.

"When you're practically the most powerful super computer in the world, able to do anything involving data in just a few seconds, sleep is kinda low on the list of things you need." Tom sat down cross legged on the roof, facing the Valkyrie.

"Val," Gideon started cautiously. "I've been meaning to ask something. What's in that case that Skulduggery wanted to get?"

Valkyrie took a deep breath. "Ok, so… Skulduggery is a good person, ok? But like all of us, he's made some bad choices sometimes. In the case is some armour, with a type of magic known as necromancy. That armour belongs to a person known as Lord Vile, one of the most powerful Sorcerers who's ever existed. But Lord Vile fought for Mevolent in the war. Mevolent wanted to control everyone in the world; you could probably class him as a 'bad guy'. Now here's the tricky part. Lord Vile and Skulduggery are the same person."

The others gasped.

Valkyrie held up a hand to ward off questions. "Wait, wait. Skulduggery is on our side, the good side, don't worry. He can use the armour to become as powerful as Lord Vile, and that will help take down the Redhood army."

Tom nodded. "It makes sense. Will he be able to control himself?"

Valkyrie sighed. "I don't know, but we have to try this method. If we don't, we'll have even less chance of survival."

Gideon scratched his head. "Do you have a secret weapon, Val?"

Valkyrie closed her eyes for a moment. "Not one I'm proud of, Gid. Just as Skulduggery is partly a necromancer who's murdered many hundreds, I'm partly a necromancer who might, if prophecies are correct, murder millions. I am partly Darquess, the World Breaker. And no, it's not something I can control. We'll have to rely on Skulduggery to stop me, but last time Darquess took over, she almost kept control. As much as this might be our only hope for survival, it might also be what kills us all."

There was silence for a few seconds, before Lisa gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth. "Oh God… she thinks she's going to kill her own parents."

Dax's eyes widened, Gideon covered his mouth and Tom stared grimly.

Lisa continued. "She's been shown a vision of Darquess turning her parents to dust…"

Valkyrie smiled grimly. "You sure are talented. Anyone who's tried to break into my head before has been… injured by the experience."

Lisa looked at her. "I'm so, so sorry…" She trailed off.

Valkyrie tried to smile properly. "Don't worry. We've found a possible way to avoid it, a way that doesn't involve killing me either. But you mustn't tell anyone from the Sanctuaries, ok? This crew we're traveling with, you guys and Owen, they're gonna have to know, but we keep this from official Sorcerers, ok?"

The others swore to keep silent about it.

Dax stood up. "I'm going to fly around a little, maybe spot if Skulduggery is on his way back. Sleep well you lot." With that, Dax let himself drop off the building. Seconds later, a majestic peregrine falcon shot into the air.

Lisa left next; slightly shaken still because of the vision Valkyrie had been shown. Tom's eyes started glowing blue, and he said he'd be fine outside; he had some internet browsing to do.

Gideon got up, and offered his hand to Valkyrie, who accepted it. They walked into the hotel together.

They were woken that morning by an almighty racket coming from the lobby. Owen was the first down there, and he found a rather injured Skulduggery lying in the remains of the reception desk.

"The Russian Sanctuary has agreed to let us operate," Skulduggery told everyone, staggering to his feet. "But they have refused to help in our inquiries, no matter how I tried to persuade them. Fortunately, I managed to follow one lead whilst out, and it appears to have been successful. A Sanctuary agent by the name of Vockbrottle Rishavich seems to have ties to the cult, so we're going to tail him tonight."

"What is Rishavich's discipline?" Valkyrie asked.

"That's what first caught Dispel's attention," Skulduggery replied. "Rishavich is a Natural. It appears he has a Gist, much like Shudder."

Valkyrie hadn't realised that a Gist was a Natural discipline of Sorcery, and voiced her confusion.

"In theory, it's not, but actually you need a very powerful soul to have a Gist. Shudder has one, and so, it appears, does Vockbrottle."

Luke made several fast signs, and Gideon nodded before turning to Skulduggery and asking; "Are we _all_ going to tail him?"

Skulduggery realised that Gideon was translating for his brother, so spoke directly to Luke. "Yes. If Vockbrottle realises we're tailing him, he'll no doubt inform the cult, which means an attack could come at any moment, and though we'll be fighting on our ground, if we're clever, it'll be on their terms. We can't allow that. Gather whatever you don't want left behind, and be down here in one hour at the latest."

Anna and Alex made a hasty breakfast for everyone, while they packed what they wanted to keep with them. After ham and egg sandwiches, and forty-five minutes of packing, they were ready to go.


	12. Chapter 11

**The Battle Begins**

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Vockbrottle was only a minor Sanctuary agent, a fact he resented considering the power he had at his disposal. After an entire day on guard duty, guarding the few prisoners in the holding cells, the last thing he wanted to do was walk miles to report to the cult, but unfortunately he had to. It was six o'clock in the evening when he reached the abandoned military compound that housed the cult and their massive Redhood and mage army. Little did he know that there had been seventeen people and a falcon following him since he'd left the Sanctuary.

"We really have only one shot at this. Tom, you've got your plan, which I won't question you about; I can see you're working on it. Spook, your power is illusions, is it not? Would you be able to make it look like a hoard of Cleavers were charging from the trees where we'll be attacking from?" Skulduggery was crouched with them, discussing a strategy.

"I can do my best to. Once the fight has started, what shall I do?"

Skulduggery stroked his jaw for a moment. "Would you be able to make it look like some of the Redhoods in the crowd are actually Cleavers? That would mean that the Redhoods started fighting each-other, as well as you guys."

Spook nodded. "Should be simple enough."

Skulduggery thanked him. "Dax, what'll you be doing?"

"The mages don't wear face armour, right? I could swoop in and go for their eyes."

Skulduggery nodded. "That should work, just be careful."

"The rest of you, what'll you be doing?"

Gideon spoke for Tyrone, Luke and himself. "Us three will just be hurling them around, throwing whatever we can at them."

Owen smiled. "I've been practising with one of those Cleaver scythes. With any luck, I can stop any Redhoods that get too close, until one of the others can deal with it."

Clive cautiously stepped forward. "I'm not going to be much use, I'm afraid, but give me a gun and I can do my best."

Lisa grinned. "I've been working on mind breaking. With luck I can either turn some to our side, or melt their minds and turn them to gibbering wrecks in armour."

Barry held up a gun he'd taken from a mage outside Volley's house, and took another from his pocket, which he passed to Clive.

Mia carefully clicked her fingers, and suddenly her right hand was engulfed in flame. It wasn't controlled flame like an elemental could produce; it was wild and frenzied, but hotter and more powerful. "I'm more than just a healer, I'm pyrotechnic too. Anyone comes near and…" she trailed off, but allowed flame to cover her other hand too.

Skulduggery nodded. "It's time. Valkyrie, fight until you feel Darquess want to take over. Then let her. "

Valkyrie didn't say anything, just gave a slight forward motion with her head.

Spook stood, arms raised. This was it. The biggest, toughest illusion he'd ever had to create. He focused, narrowing his eyes. Figures appeared in the trees, figures in grey armour, with large scythes strapped to their backs.

Anna and Alex stood, warhammers in their hands. Behind them stood the Rippers, prepared to die to defend Tom. Just doing what they'd been paid to do.

Skulduggery held the case, ready to unclasp it and release Lord Vile onto himself.

Valkyrie stood next to him, ready to charge, prepared to let Darquess take over.

Tom stood clutching Lucy's hand, his eyes were glowing blue but he was obviously aware and ready. Slowly he activated his ISkin. Lucy felt her stomach churn. She whispered "Defend" and felt an invisible barrier of some kind surround her.

Owen stood, Cleaver scythe held ready, a handgun holstered at his belt, just in case.

The three telekinetics were shoulder to shoulder, a determined look on each of their faces.

Barry and Clive were checking their guns, both looking grim.

Lisa knelt by Dax, who was in fox form, psyching themselves up for the battle to come.

Mia let fire swirl around her hands and arms. She was prepared.

At 7 pm, by a supposedly abandoned military base just outside Moscow, dozens of Cleavers charged out of a forest. Leading them, and shouting a terrible war cry was a boy who seemed to be glowing blue. Grasping his hand was his girlfriend, who took up the cry, and made courage swell in those who wished to protect, and inspired fear in the hearts of those who wanted to kill. Following the line of Cleavers and the two teenagers was a small crowd of people, who also took up the battle shout.

Just before the Cleaver line reached the Redhoods and mages gathered in the compound, some of the Redhoods turned on their allies, cutting them down. Other Redhoods then attacked those who had struck their allies. The Redhood front line dissolved into a writhing mass before the Cleavers had even arrived.

The Cleavers disappeared into thin air, seemingly leaving two charging teens to bear the brunt of the Redhood front line. Instead, what was left of the Redhood front line was destroyed by a shout and bolts of energy. Redhoods were either torn to shreds by a wall of force, or vaporised by energy.

From the trees hurtled a figure in armour made up of living shadows. He flew right past the group of teens and crashed headlong into the Redhoods, ripping straight through them and out the other side. The one man army then started attacking from the back, and a score of Redhoods and mages fell before they even realised what was happening.

Lucy staggered back, but Tom was getting stuck in, drawing power from an overhead cable to keep his ISkin active and vaporising multiple Redhoods or mages in one go.

Several Redhoods clutched at their heads. Half of them collapsed to the ground, while the other half whirled into their allies, slashing everywhere. Mages ducked behind Redhoods, using them as shields as guns rang out from the trees and bullets flew overhead. A falcon dropped from the sky onto a mage's face. A scream followed, then the falcon flew again, two glistening objects in it's talons.

A burst of flame engulfed a group of mages and they spun away in pain.

There was a giant crane near the compound, but that was before Gideon had an idea. Bits of crane swung through the army like cricket bats, sending Redhoods sailing away in all different directions.

Valkyrie ducked under a large girder that swiped the head off a Redhood to her left and charged deeper into the army. She ducked and weaved, dodged and dived her way through, using shadows to stab and slash, slice and tear. She felt Darquess rising.

"_Let me out!" _ Darquess howled in her head, and Valkyrie knew she had no choice. Or did she? Valkyrie tried something she'd never tried before, and never wanted to try again because of the pain it caused her. She reached out and grasped Darquess' power, whilst pushing Darquess down. Valkyrie cried in pain, real physical pain, but suddenly it all went. The world was a blaze of colours and patterns that slowly settled.

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**To make the next chapter feel more epic than it already is, try putting some equally epic music on while you read it. ULTRA EPICNESS**


	13. Chapter 12

**Epic Music is practically essential for this chapter**

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Valkyrie could see magic! She could see the material magic in the Redhood's armour; she could see the angry magic in the mage's bodies. She could see the dark magic that Lord Vile was using over the other side of the army, ripping Redhoods and mages apart. The poor fools didn't stand a chance. She could see the organic and unearthly magic in Dax, flying high above her, and in Gideon and Luke and Tyrone and Lisa and all the others. She could see the Natural magic that Lucy had, shouting into the crowd. And she could see the unusual blend of technology and magic, Technomancy she decided to call it, that Tom had.

And she could see Owen and Clive, the only ones without magic of them all, so they all thought. But deep in their hearts, in their veins, ran the blood of heroes, of wars both human and magic, and heroes of science, heroes of medicine.

Valkyrie had Darquess' power, but she was still herself. No violent mood swing, no murderous intentions. Valkyrie sent out shadows that blasted apart every being within two meters of her. She chuckled. Almost no murderous intentions. She ignored the scythe wound that had ripped her left arm apart, letting it rapidly heal on its own, and instead focused on shredding Redhoods and decapitating mages.

All of a sudden, Tom staggered out of the crowd and stepped behind Mia, after whispering a word or two to her. She nodded grimly and became a little more defensive, protecting her and Tom rather than attacking.

A moment or two later, a loud buzzing could be heard, and three armed Military drones whined over the trees. Valkyrie pulled the head off a mage and actually laughed out loud. Somehow Tom had managed to hack into someone's military systems. Two of the drones were fitted with two Gatling Guns each, the other with some kind of explosive. The two with guns flew low over the crowd, sending a constant stream of high calibre bullets into the Redhoods and mages. Not even the bullet proof Redhood armour could stand up to the four steady streams of death. Figures in red dropped like flies.

Valkyrie extracted the dozens of bullets that had hit her, then hurled them as fast as she could. It was as if they'd been fired again, each hit and killed another enemy.

Lord Vile was using the death bubble, reaching out with necromancy and then drawing back, killing the poor people in range.

The two gun drones came in for another pass, carving two paths through the crowd. As they do, a blast of energy from one side speared through one, sending it spinning away, before it exploded. Valkyrie found the mage who had fired the energy, and took his atoms apart carefully. The third drone finally decided to attack. It fired what looked like rockets into the crowd, causing multiple explosions. Valkyrie was caught in one, and screamed in pain as her left leg was blown off. She held out her hands and, still screaming, focused the magic at the stump where her leg had been. Shadows swarmed, then retracted, and there was her left leg again, good as new. Darquess' healing powers were quite impressive.

The battle became a blur. Figures whirled, spun, slashed. Blood, most of it Valkyrie's flew into the air, but the wounds that had sprayed the blood healed in moments. At one point, a scythe swipe took Owen's arm off. Valkyrie was there in an instant, and knelt by the bleeding man, letting her magic flow over the stump of the arm and the limb that was lying on the ground a meter away. Owen got back up, and after thanking Valkyrie turned back to protecting Tom, who was still focused on controlling the drones.

The fighting carried on for ages. After what seemed like a day to Valkyrie, but was probably only an hour, mages and Redhoods began to surrender. They raised their hands, laid down their weapons. Some on the edges of the fighting broke off and ran away. Valkyrie felt Darquess' power fade, and return back into Darquess in her mind.

The last few mages and Redhoods surrendered.

Silence covered the compound. During the fighting, the other two drones had been taken out of the sky, after causing heavy casualties. Quiet reigned. Skulduggery fought Lord Vile down, and returned the armour to it's case.

Skulduggery shook hands with a rather blood spattered Owen. "That was quite amazing. Owen Hind, thank you very much for your help."

Owen smiled. "Who'd have thought a walking skeleton in a navy blue suit could lead us all on such a wild adventure."

Skulduggery smiled. "Who indeed."

Just then a voice rang out, shattering the pleasant atmosphere. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" A man stood in the compound. What little hair he had left was grey, and he looked old. Considering Valkyrie knew men in their four hundreds who looked in their late thirties, this man must have been really ancient.

"YOU HAVE DESTORYED IT! ALL OF IT! Everything I've worked for over the past years since the war ended, destroyed by YOU! A walking skeleton, eleven teenagers with powers, a young man with powers and a boy and a man with no magic to speak of?! And how many casualties have you had? ONE!"

Valkyrie looked over and saw that there were only three figures in Cleaver armour. One of the Rippers had died whilst fighting. One of the Wreckers had lost his helmet; Valkyrie could tell it was Alex.

"You will PAY!" with that, the old man brought disks from nowhere and hurled them. Valkyrie watched them as they flew. They were smaller than the disks that the others had used, but looked even more deadly. Everyone dived in different directions, but one of the disks hit someone. Gideon rolled around on the ground in agony, a disk sticking out of his shoulder. Mia ran over to help him, and Valkyrie cried out and charged at the old man.

But before she reached him, something swept her off her feet. There stood Vockbrottle, his Gist twisting around him. As it went to strike again, a blazing blue figure came out of nowhere and started grappling with the Gist.

"You cannot destroy a Gist!" it screamed. "No form of magic can."

Tom was glowing blue, the light reaching across most of the compound. "Breaking… News… My power… Isn't… Proper… Magic!"

Blue cracks spread down the Gist's hands, which Tom was gripping. The Gist wailed in pain. The blue spread further and faster, rushing down the Gist's body and reaching the thin stream that connected it to Vockbrottle. All at once, the stream broke. The Gist vanished, and Vockbrottle's eyes went blank. He was still alive, but his soul had vanished.

The old man screamed, and hurled two more disks, but they stopped in the air, then dropped. Gideon and Luke stepped forward and smiled. The old man turned to run, but stumbled over a rusty orange figure. The fox barked happily, and then Dax was there, standing over the old man. Skulduggery knelt down by him and cuffed him. "You are under arrest."

"You shall not stop the rebellion. When it comes, and I am released, you will all be sorry!"

Skulduggery sighed. "The sparrow flies south for winter." He told his audience, above the racket the old man was making, before slamming a fist into the man's face.

They thought it was finally over, but a mage raised himself up on his hands. He had no legs, just a bleeding stump of body. He raised a hand and fired a bold of energy, before collapsing. The energy hit the Wrecker still wearing a helmet, which must have been Anna, and blew her head apart. There was a shocked silence. Then the Ripper knelt down and picked up the warhammer that Anna had used and slotted it into a holder on it's back. The Ripper raised it's helmet. Anna's face beamed out at them. "That was lucky," she smiled.

Anna explained her power. In addition to her Cleaver-like agility, she could pick up a weapon and almost instantly know how to use it and also perform a short range place swap with another living person. She had swapped herself with the Ripper, although she didn't swap their armour. Eighteen of them had gone into the battle. Sixteen had come out victorious.

Valkyrie sighed. "Can we just go?"

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**All the action is now over, but there's still a little storyline left. You can turn off the epic music now, if you like.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Don't ask what happened at the end there. I turned into a soppy fool while writing the goodbye scene. Yup, that is a thing...  
Final chapter, enjoy. Hope you've enjoyed the story =) - The Fletcher**

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It had been a long journey back. They'd been unable to contact Fletcher because Tom had accidentally drained power from every phone in the area, and every payphone in Moscow. They'd had to travel in a car Skulduggery ended up buying, before finally finding somewhere in Europe where they could get a flight. Now they were in Britain at five in the morning, about to board a ferry and saying goodbye to Tom and Lucy, and Owen's crew. As Valkyrie waited for the moments to come, the moments she knew she would hate, an idea suddenly dawned on her. She quickly gathered them all together to tell them.

"Where do you all plan on going from here then?" She asked.

There was a little bit of mumbling and whispering, but no-one had any idea. "Well I have an idea. Tom, Lucy, I hate to be blunt, but you don't have a home to go to, do you?"

They shook their heads.

"Neither do you, Anna, Alex. Am I right?"

They nodded.

"Well, why not form some kind of justice squad. Work independently from the Sanctuary in England, travel around, hack systems, shout at people who've done wrong. You lot are all going to age really slowly, so you'll have hundreds of years to do what you want, but for now, why not be a justice team. Dax, you and your friends trust you. They want to follow you, I can tell. Why not join Tom and Lucy, when you're all older? No rules, no restrictions, just freedom and fairness."

Anna and Alex were already nodding. A grin slowly spread across Tom's face, and Lucy couldn't help but smile.

"That sounds like an idea we can go with." Dax grinned.

The ferry arrived whilst Dax was in deep discussion with Tom and Lucy. Skulduggery got everyone's attention. "It's time for us to go now, I believe."

Owen stepped forward to shake his hand. Tyrone followed, and Owen moved across to Valkyrie. "I've learnt a lot from being a teacher to these kids," He said, gesturing to them. "But you've taught me as much in just a week. Thank you, Valkyrie Cain, and good luck." Owen stood to the side. Tyrone shook Valkyrie's hand. "You're an incredible person, you know that? Good luck Valkyrie, stay safe."

One by one, the ten teenagers came up to shake Skulduggery's hand, then Valkyrie's hand. Lisa stopped for a moment. "Good luck Val. I'm sure you'll find away round all your problems. One way, or another."

Last came Gideon. "Looks like we're off then. It was nice to spend time with you Val. Shame we haven't had more."

Valkyrie wiped her eyes. "Gid…" then lurched forward and embraced him.

Gideon wiped his eyes too, and tried to laugh. "I'll see you again, Valkyrie Cain."

"I hope so." She told him, before looking at all of them, even Anna and Alex. "I'm going to miss you all. I hope I'll see you again."

Owen put a hand on her shoulder. "You will, Val, you will."

And so Skulduggery led her onto the ferry, and with fourteen people who had grown dear to her heart waving her off, they left. Dax, Clive, Barry, Lisa, Spook, Mia, Luke, Gideon, Tyrone, Anna, Alex, Lucy, Tom and Owen. "I won't forget you," she told herself.

Skulduggery called Ravel as soon as he got back into Ireland and charged his phone. "How did the meeting go, between you and the representatives?"

On the other end of the phone, he heard Ravel sigh. "I don't know Skulduggery… I just don't know."

Finally, finally, Valkyrie was home. She bumped into the reflection coming home from school, took it and herself to her bedroom through the window, absorbed the reflection's memories, jumped out the window and walked through the front door.

"How was your day Stephanie?" Her mum called.

Valkyrie sighed. "Good thanks mum." She said.

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**Oh God the soppyness. It BURNS! Whel, thats the end of that. Can't say i didn't enjoy writing it. Who knows, there might be more. I'm already working on another Skulduggery Pleasant non-crossover, so check that out. Until then, laters ^_^**


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